, 1887-05-19

1hrle or one who,
winning many Victories never lost the life of q
man through a bluEi"r; who lived beloved by
the brave fellows at his back, and died lamcnted,
leaving his monument in the hearts of his sol.
ders, Modest, silent and strangely solitary, lie
left the record of his deeds to the keeping OF the
brave men who made those deeds possible No
press reporter made his headquarters n source of
noisy eulogy; no political party used his name in
return for partisan favors. Suspected by the
government he did 30 much to save, he died neg
lected by the very men whose tenure OF power he
had made secure.
Thomas himself modestlv believed that the
success of an army depends more on the drill
and discipline of the men than the ability Of
their officers. He was heard TO say: "The
brave men drilled and cared for, the men
whose confidence won, made me all can
claim to be as commander"
Col. Piatt gives some new and original
views on West Point, which, as curiosity, il
nothing else, are worth quoting He says it
was not what West Point taught Gen.
Thomas, but what West Point failed to teach,
upon which he afterward graduated into
greatness. The defects Of the school first
called his attention to more in our military
system, and then study enabled him, while in
the war, to call order out of chaos, and create
an army that was irresistible in the field
West Point This academy" says the unfaiter.
ing Piatt "is a little SCHOOL ON the Hudson, popu
larly supposed TO produc. military men. As war
IL not -ci"uce' hardly an art one IN puzzled to
know how II can be taught and even II II could
be, the learned professors would find themselves
troubled as all learned professors are, to create
the mind necessary to apply the science after the
teaching. OF n thousand pupils most admirably
inst ructei In law or physic. Que only Is capable
Of using the information gained,
There ~ popular superstition tn the effect
that In training one to habits Of study and an
active use Of memory, mind IL actually created,
and Of the thousand, all are capable of being
lifted to the same intellectual level People cam
not comprehend, nor be made 10 believe, that in
any school the same inequality prevails that OBJ.
tains In common life. The many stupid; the
few alone are thoughtful. We are well aware Of
the fact that man INDY be taught all that science
and art can contribute and yet remain a fool. IL
IL not the accumulation Of facts that gives intel
lectual power, but tho ability to the informa-
tion so obtained.
"There IN mystery In the public mind about
West Point that would be ludicrous did II not
carry such grave consequences. 1t IL believed
that through some unknown and unknowable
process Of education the little academy gradu.
ates Napoleons every year. The ancient chest
nut which tells us Of the machine that takes In
swine and turns out sausage has Its parallel in
what is believed OF West Point. Raw youths
whose lack OF natural ability would cause one to
doubt the propriety of making them clerks in
country stores, are captured by members of con.
where the lives OF men and perhaps the safety Of
ecountry depend on their ability.
THE mystery Is readily solved. There Is moth.
ing taught at West Point that differs from the
| teaching OF any other academy OF like preten.
sons the training OF the soldier. and therein
lies the most ludcrous feature OF the whole af.
faE. There is nothing In the training Of the sol